Reason For his Smile
by brokenxv
Summary: 'Every choice we have made has lead us to this point.' Derek knew that he was destined to come back to Beacon Hills. He needed closure, revenge, but most of all, he needed to see him... Derek knew that the pain of his memories and even facing the rogue alpha would all be worth it if he just saw him... After all a wolf can only last so long without its mate. Slash Derek/OC
1. Chapter 1: An absent Future

**The Reason for his Smile**

A/N: Hey everybody! This is a story that kinda just popped up in my head, surprising me since I'm really not a big Teen Wolf fan. I only know that Tyler Hoechin is hot and that Derek Hale is my favorite character. As I was saying before this idea just came to me and once I written it p I couldn't help but be really satisfied and please by how this story could developed. I would to see what are people responses to this story, and I'll start writing more of this story alongside ASOL. Anyways follow, fave, and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf! If I did Sterek would be real, Danny would be a more relevant to the plot and Scott would've not whined so much as he did in Season 1.

Warning!: Mention of M/M relationship! in other words Slash!

Chapter 1: An Absent Future

**? POV**

How did it end up like this? After all we had suffered was it really meant to end this way? With an uncertain future passing through my eyes as I witness the person I had loved all my life, with all of my soul, look into my eyes with fear, determination, love, and disbelief. I know there were others here with us, looking in their own ways for a solution to the predicament we were. Their presence, however, I ignored. There was only three things that I was truly aware of; the alpha's claw that was pressing into the side of my neck already breaking skin and drawing blood, the glowing eyes of the center of my universe as he tried to control all his instincts to protect me knowing that the moment he moved I would be killed, and the flashing and shifting future that flashed before my eyes.

Never had I believe that the future would be as unstable as it was right now. Could it be that in some form of self-preservation my eyes denied to show my own demise? If so then it meant that I would not live through the night. I would no longer be able to see my friends, comfort them when they needed me, hug my mom, write to my dad, or tease my cousin, but above all, I would no longer be able to hold and be held by my wolf.

Derek… Losing me will be one of the hardest things I know he will experience. After losing his whole family by the hands of people he had trusted, he was never the same, not even around me. I know that he would try to follow me if I were to leave this world. His poor heart would never recover from the blow; the shadow of my death will be added to the list of those he feels he could not protect, and it will just send him over the edge. A world without Derek, independent if I was around, was just a cold and cruel place… For many years it was the world that I had lived in and I was determined to not let it happen again. I will make sure he survives; and even though he will never trust another with himself the way he was built to do with me, he will learn to love again and he will live his life.

My mind, my heart and my soul has made the decision. I shall perish protecting the one I was meant to love. Derek will probably resent me but I needed him to live, and this was the only way.

Just as the decision was made, the future settled before my eyes. I couldn't help but laugh in my mind at how it would all play out. How my death would finally put an end to the nightmare we had been living in for the past few months. The right words in my final breath will allow Derek to live on, and eventually find someone who can be satisfied with what remained of his heart.

For the first time I noticed that there were words being exchanged all around me. Derek was threatening my captor, Scott trying to calm Derek down, Stiles trying to negotiate and Jackson simply standing nearby just staring at me. I felt the pressure being added to my neck, and more blood seeping through the wound. I let the silver dagger that I had hidden in the sleeve of my jacket drop out to my hand. I looked over to where Jackson and Stiles where standing and simply mouthing an apology in their direction.

My eyes then locked with Derek's. There was so much I wish I could tell him at this moment, so much I wanted to do, so many things that I wanted to experience together… But our time was cut short once again… The fates were cruel, but at least they allowed me to love and be loved by this wonderful man. I looked into his eyes and simply held his gaze. Again they looked into mine with such a range of emotions, and not for the first time, I was overwhelmed by everything his eyes held. I felt my eyes start to water as I gave him a small smile and mouthed the truest words I knew since the day he had first kissed me.

'I love you'

I closed my eyes then, not willing to see as his eyes filled up with fear and the blood start to drain from his face. I took the dagger infused with a wolfsbane and stabbed the wolf that was holding me.

I heard a howl of pain and great pressure on my neck. Before anything could happen, my eyes flashed with images from the past.

**7 Years ago**

**Third Person POV**

"Derek are you listening to me?" Mr. Hale asked his son for the third time since sitting down in his study for this conversation.

"Dad could we please just stop! I already have the birds and the bees talk!" The thirteen year old Derek said with embarrassment and desperation written all over his face. As if it wasn't bad enough that his uncle have given him the awkward talk a few weeks ago, a little too enthusiastically if you ask him, now he had to get from his dad.

"Your uncle only covered the human side of the events. You must be informed of part your wolf will affect what you already know." His dad tried to explain feeling equally frustrated as his youngest felt. "You're wolf has become more active, and so have your hormones, and it is necessary that you understand the dynamics in which your wolf functions when it comes to sex."

"Dad….!" Derek said as he gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine… can we just make it as quick and painless as possible?" He said blushing slightly while holding a slight scowl on his face. His father couldn't help but chuckle at his boy. At such a young age Derek had become very temperamental and tended to have very little patience with anything that wasn't strictly important to him. Not only that but he was now growing into his body, having muscle his develop rapidly, balancing out the long limbs he had grown in the last year and giving him a built appearance, as expected around the first year mark after shifting. Even at thirteen years old his son looked as if he was a junior in high school, pretty soon he'll have to shave and would probably have at 5 o'clock shadow in a matter of days. All of these changes weren't unusual; there were expected to happen a year after the first shift. He had even received a call from school about the faculty showing concern about Derek's rapid growth spurt, asking him if he wanted the school to conduct a steroid test on the boy. Mr. Hale had laughed, expecting this call sooner or later; he even remembered when his own parents had received a similar call about him and his brother.

What was unusual in Derek, however, was the amount of control he had shown. Usually around this time in a werewolf's life, the werewolf starts to grow its own 'conscious' and it becomes harder for the human side to control. A youngling, as referred by other werewolves, would become extremely irritable, aggressive, and for lack of a better word, horny. Derek's uncle was a perfect example of this. Peter often described his experience during this period of his life that any person he encountered had a fifty/fifty chance of either getting punched in the face or fucked.

The Hales were all expecting Derek to go through something similar, yet the youngling never did. He did have the urge to shift more frequently, from once every other week to now twice a week, but every time he shifted he was always in control. His attitude had changed slightly; he was more serious, impatient, and direct, but other than that he had not thrown any fit of rage nor had he started to reek of testosterone or any other pheromones that would indicate that he had the need to copulate. In fact if it weren't for the more apparent physical changes, the Hales would have thought that the boy had something wrong with him… It was almost unheard of for a youngling to react so well to the real awakening of their wolves, but Mr. Hale had a theory about his son unusual behavior…

"Umm dad? Are you in there?" Derek asked his father, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry son. I was thinking about something else. What were we talking about?" Mr. Hale said rather sheepishly.

Derek rolled his eyes, "You were going to tell me how my wolf affects the birds and the bees." He said in a slightly distasteful tone that Mr. Hale could tell hid an undercurrent of curiosity in it, not that Derek would admit it.

Mr. Hale nodded before taking a deep breath. "Wolves tend to mate for life." He started. "Albeit they allow, and sometimes require, you to have sexual intercourse with others, our wolves will only tie themselves down to another person only once." Mr. Hale said looking at his son who was no longer hiding his curiosity. "We are a social creature that craves stability and company of others; we crave the feeling of belonging in a pack, of having people depend on us and us in them. But we also crave the love and touch of only one person to whom we will trust ourselves with. Once the bond is created it can only be broken once, and only by the wolf itself, not by the human. But that rarely happens."

Derek was leaning a little forward now, his eyebrows mashed together and his face set into a thoughtful look.

"Who chooses the mate?" Derek asked.

Mr. Hale smiled at his boy. "That actually depends on the situation. In most scenarios it is the human who chooses the mate. After they are sure that the person they have chosen is the one they want, they must present the potential mate to the wolf and then the wolf would either accept or reject the potential mate. If the mate is accepted by the wolf then they are allowed to make the final bond and potentially unlock more of the wolf's power."

"How so?"

"No one really knows the reason behind it. It is only known that mated wolves are stronger than wolves that are not mated. Sometimes they become physically stronger, or faster, other times they develop new abilities. But that is a topic for another time." Mr. Hale said trying to dismiss his son's train of thought. "The second scenario is that the wolf chooses the mate. These individuals are commonly known as pure mates. It is extremely rare for a wolf to find their pure mates, and it is the only reason a wolf would break any previous bond. It is said that the person that is chosen by the wolf is his or her soul mate, a being that is completely compatible with both the human side and the wolf. This person will tie down the wolf, giving it a reason to fight and protect, unlocking the wolf's true potential and calming the wolf with that person's presence alone. The human side will get a soul mate, a person who will satisfy them in every aspect to the point that the werewolf will feel pure devotion to this person, laying down their own life to protect the mate."

Derek listened to his father with rapt fascination. He always like learning about the history, especially the legends and traditions of his people. In this case it worked out for both him and his father, since this conversation was no longer strictly about sex and more about who he, and his family, was. He was brimming with questions he wanted to ask his father, especially about the wolf chosen mates. Before he was able to ask any more questions, the doorbell to their house was rang and he heard his sister open the door only to hear the small voice that had Derek grinning from ear to ear.

"Hi Laura! Is Derek home?" A small and polite voice said.

Derek was practically ready to run out of his father's study, but he waited until he was given permission to leave.

"Go on, we'll talk more about this later." Mr. Hale said as he watched his son dart out of the study without a second glance back.

He got up and followed his son at a slower pace. He stopped at the top of the stairs and watched his son practically push his sister out of the way just to get to his friend. In the doorway stood the reason for his son's excitement, a ten year old boy, with blond hair and expressive brown eyes. The boy was slightly taller compare to other boys of his age, but his face still held the innocence of his short years. The boy smiled when Derek reached the door.

"Hey squirt." Derek said teasingly.

The blonde boy huffed and cross his arms. "Just because you're a giant now doesn't mean I'm short." He said, acting offended but with humor written all over the younger boy's eyes.

"Derek be nice to Josh. Heaven knows he's the only friend you got that can actually stand you." Laura said lightly pushing her brother for pushing her out of the way.

"Thanks Laura!" Josh said with a smile while Derek simply rolled his eyes and pushed his sister back.

"Anytime squirt!" She said with a smile. Derek just laughed as Josh once again huffed in annoyance.

Mr. Hale couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the trio interact. The sound made all three pairs of eyes look up at Mr. Hale. Mr. Hale couldn't help but stiffen slightly as Josh's brown eyes connected with his own. It wasn't the older man was intimidated or threatened by the ten year old; the reality was that he loved Josh as if he were his own son. He and Derek have been joined by the hip since they met six years ago. The boy was polite, kind, levelheaded and incredibly smart. And there is where the root of the problem resided; the reason Mr. Hale would hesitate when he looked into the boy's eyes. The boy was too smart and it was evident in his eyes. Even though they would always sparkle with laughter his eyes held wisdom, understanding and traces of pain that was far beyond the boy's years. Sometimes he would swear that the little boy knew their secret, and the worst part of it wall, was that he knew that the boy would defend their secret with his life.

"Good afternoon Mr. Hale." Josh said with a smile.

"Same to you Josh. Where are you kidnapping my son today?"

"We're going to the park! And then to the ice cream shop!" Josh said excitement lighting up his brown eyes.

"That sounds like fun." Mr. Hale said as he observed the smile that Derek was giving Josh. It was a gentle smile, one that he only seen on his son once before. Laura seemed to notice the way his brother was looking at Josh and she gave her father a look.

"Well you better hurry up before it gets too late." Laura said. "You don't want the ice cream to close before you even have the appropriate amount of fun."

Josh grabbed Derek's hand and practically yanked him out of the door.

"Don't forget to be home before sundown!" Laura said as she stood at the doorway with a smile on her face.

"Alright _mom_!" Derek yelled over his shoulder as he playfully pushed Josh and started running towards the park. Josh simply laughed and gave chase to his best friend, doing his best to catch Derek.

Laura closed the door as Mr. Hale passed her to go to the kitchen.

"We'll have to tell mom about those two soon…" Laura said as she followed her father.

"I think she already suspects, especially after the last couple of weeks. But we still have no proof."

"Really dad? You have to be blind not to see it." Laura scoffed. "We can barely get Derek to smile once around us, yet when Josh is around I swear his face will split in two with the stupid grin he just showed us. He's also grown more attached to him in the last couple of months, which coincidently is the time his wolf should be raising hell. Not to mention he practically purred when Josh grabbed his hand. Purr dad! I've heard Derek's wolf growl, bark, snort and hiss, but I have never heard it purr before. His wolf was completely blissed out and he hadn't even phase."

Mr. Hale just kept quiet while his oldest ranted telling him all the things he knew and hoped weren't true.

"Dad…" Laura whispered seeing the look on her father's face. "I know this isn't what you imagine for your baby boy. Having him finding his pure mate at such a young age and only to have his mate to be both younger than him and also a male would probably put a strain in the pack. But it's his pure mate. How many of our kind will kill to find what he stumbled upon by accident, independent of their gender. You know Derek is a happier and better person when he is with Josh. And his wolf is so docile, grumpy but still docile, and it's because his other half spends time with their mate and he has no reason to fight or be angry at anybody. Hell I wish my youngling years was that good."

Mr. Hale gave his daughter a look for her language, but he couldn't deny what she was telling him. He should be happy for his son. Finding one's pure mate was so rare, he had only met one other pure mated couple and he knew just how devoted and powerful those werewolves were. And even though Josh was not a werewolf, he would also feel the pull of the bond and would never hurt Derek in any way. But he couldn't help but feel disappointed that his only son would not be able to have children of his own; that he will not be able to continue the Hale line like all fathers' wanted their sons to do. He also knew that his son would probably endure further harassment and discrimination. He was already teased because he preferred to hang out with the ten year old than other kids around his age. Thankfully Josh had now skipped a grade and would start this semester as a 6th grader, making him a little more socially accepted for his 8th grade son to hang out with.

Everybody in the house knew that the teasing really bothered Derek. But it wasn't until six months ago that his boy would come home from school and went directly to the little gym that they had in the basement and spend hours at a time taking out his frustration on the punching bag. Anytime anybody would try to talk to him during that time would only get a growl and a glare and then would be promptly ignored. After he was done he would emerge and act as his regular self, but everybody could always see the remnants of tension in his shoulder. It wasn't long before Josh's own observant eyes notice what his best friend was going through and how much it was hurting him.

Mr. Hale couldn't help but smile as he remembered the night that Josh had showed up at their house and demanded to talk to Derek alone. Josh was still nine years old at the time and he sat Derek down on the sofa and told him that he couldn't be his friend anymore. The family had heard the declaration from upstairs and they were as shocked as they knew Derek would be. Looking back now it was comical how the whole scene seemed to be copied from a soap opera script. Derek was immediately asking what it was that he did wrong, he promised that he could still be his friend and even go on the slides with him again. The poor boy practically begged Josh not to leave him. Then everybody was shocked when they heard Josh crying and, as Laura retold the story (since she was too curious for her own good and decided to spy on them), hugging Derek as if he was a lifeline. Josh told that he didn't want people to make his life harder just because he was friends with a stupid nine year old and that he was only trying to help his life get easier.

Derek had hugged the little boy and trying to calm him down. Then he surprised everybody by saying: "Don't ever say something like that again. You are a much better friend that they are and you're a million times more important to me than those dickheads are. Even if they can keep up with me while we're playing tag." Both Laura and Josh stared at Derek with open mouths and wide eyes until Josh slapped Derek on the arm for the slight insult to him and hugged him once again with all his strength.

After that night Josh was usually found over at the Hales house, and the nights that he wasn't over Derek would be at Josh's house, the Whittemore-Sanchez household. They spend more time together, but not out in public, which all the older Hales knew was Josh's way of protecting Derek. When Josh was over he would just help whoever was making dinner that night until Derek was done beating the punching bag for all the wrong it did for just existing in their basement. Despite Derek's reassuring words he would still get teased at in school and he would still come home and try to exercise his frustration out of him. They had replaced that punching bag at least 3 times during those months. But once Derek was done Josh would distract him, telling him to set the table for his parents, or to go shower, or commanded him to do some other menial chore. After dinner Josh would drag Derek to the family den where they would help each other with any homework they had. Helping 'each other' usually ended up with Josh actually helping Derek with _his_ homework.

The kid was smart, not only did he help Derek with his homework, but he actually tutored Derek in his science and math classes. One time Laura had joined them saying that she might as well catch the nerd bus and see if it could help her as well. Unlike Derek, Laura never really struggle much in math unless she was doing the difficult bonus exercises. At one point she and Derek decided to take a break and get a snack from the kitchen so they could clear their minds for a bit. By the time they both got back Laura had found her math book open and found that several of the bonus questions were solved correctly. When she asked Josh if he had done them the boy simply shrugged and said that his history homework was giving him a headache and he needed a break as well. Laura simply stared at him with an open mouth and Josh simply shrugged and focused his attention on helping Derek. Soon after that, Derek had given a shout of victory after completing a worksheet, the same worksheet he had threaten to rip into a hundred pieces only a few hours ago, and getting a smile from Laura confirming that they were all correct. The Hales couldn't believe Derek's progress until a week after what had become a daily homework sessions, a very exited Derek came home with an 'A' on his math exam. Derek tried to thank Josh, promising him that he would take him to the lake or to the park, even play with him at Chuck E. Cheese. Josh simply shook his head saying that he didn't want anything but that he needed Derek's help with his history homework.

Mr. Hale sighed once again in resignation. The truth was that Josh not only gave Derek his friendship, but comfort, protection and purpose. He knew that Josh would grow up to be an amazing man; he would be kind, giving and caring. It was something he would see to any potential mate of his children would have.

"I will talk to your mother when she comes back home… Don't tell your uncle just yet… We will let him know once we have undeniable proof." Mr. Hale said to his daughter.

Laura hugged her dad, knowing how hard this was going to be for him. "No prob dad, we got your back no matter what."

-Present-

Josh's POV

I smiled once more, trying to keep the image of the smile that graced the face of a young and innocent Derek in my mind. Even back then I seemed to be the reason for his smile, as he was the reason for mine.

_Every choice we have made has led us to this point. I'll never regret the choices that brought me closer to you Derek… I will always love you… I hope you can find happiness again once I'm gone… _I thought to him, hoping that he could somehow hear me as pain flared from my neck announcing my end…

_**A/N**_: Hope you enjoyed my little spin to the Teen Wolf universe. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions. Hopefully I will be able to post chapters frequently. Until next time!

A/N2: edited on 6/29/13


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting Grounds

**Reason for His smile**

**A/N: **Hi again! Here's the next chapter for my little story. The next couple of chapters are basically going to be a run down of Derek's and Josh's past and how that all mixes in with the Teen Wolf story we all know. I want to give a special thanks to all those who have given this story a chance and have added to you alerts/faves. Anyway here's the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: **Disclaimed!

**Chapter 2: Meeting Grounds**

Derek never could explain why the park made him feel so happy and free. He just enjoyed playing around with the available equipment, running around with other kids from his grade and age, playing tag or some other fun game, or simply sitting as still as a seven year old can and simply enjoying the sights and sounds of kids playing and the parents' chatter. But for some strange reason he felt more at home when he was in the park than he did when his was in his own house. Sometimes Laura would tease him by saying that maybe he was more of a dog that he was a wolf; saying that he was too domesticated and simply enjoy being around people too much. Derek hated when Laura would say stuff like that; because in reality he really didn't like to spend time with people outside his family and pack. Besides he desperately needed to be a wolf like his mom and dad; be part of the pack and run around with his cousins, uncles and aunts during the full moon.

Maybe that was the reason he liked the park so much. All the kids would find way to organize themselves into small little pack like groups, with an obvious leader shouting commands and laughing harder than the rest while the rest just trust the leader and simply have fun the only way they know how. In the end Derek didn't care why it was that he liked to come to the park, he just wanted to go play and simply be a regular seven year old playing with his human friends.

"Derek! Stop running so fast" Dave, one of Derek's friends, said as he chases him around the perimeter of the park.

"Come on slowpoke!" Derek yelled back picking up his pace and laughing at his friend.

While Derek was distracted he bumped into someone and was sent tumbling to the ground. His landing was softened by a body and he heard a huff and a slight groan come from underneath him.

"Hey! Get off my cousin!" A young and angry voice yelled.

Derek tried to get up and looked down at the boy beneath him. The boy was younger than him, around the preschooler years, with blond hair and brown eyes. His cheeks were a little flushed, either from embarrassment or probably from playing around in the park, and he was looking up at Derek with a shy, warm and friendly smile which showed off the boy's dimples in a way that could make any preschooler get away with almost anything. It took only a second for Derek to take all of the boy's characteristics and somehow have them engraved to his memories before something in him changed.

All of the sudden his sight changed, all color was drained from his vision, it was like looking at a black and white video with blue hue around the edges of his vision. The only place he saw color was in the boy's eyes. They were no longer brown but glowing green. The boy looked at him in a confused manner for a fraction of a second before he gave Derek a full smile.

The moment was lost when Derek felt himself being pushed off the boy.

"Get off him!" Another blond boy said. The other boy was obviously furious at Derek for possibly hurting his friend and was more than willing to defend him, even though Derek was much older than the two boys.

"It's ok Jacks… I'm not hurt or anything." The other boy said soothingly as he tried to stand up.

Jacks gave a small huff of slight annoyance and helped the boy up as he kept glaring daggers at Derek.

"Hi my name's Josh, and this is Jackson. What's your name?" The blond said once he was standing on his own two legs. He motioned the other boy as Jackson and was still smiling warmly at Derek. Derek, however, couldn't answer the boy's question since his was now focused on the trickle of blood flowing down Josh's leg. There was a small scrape above on the boy's knee, slowly letting the essential crimson substance escape from the Josh's body. Even though Derek and his family have had their fair share of cuts, scrapes, broken bones and bruises, the sight the little boy's blood had somehow manage to make him sick to his stomach.

Josh simply cocked his head to the side wondering the boy was not talking to him. At his young age Josh would be easily described as being overly curious and often asking people endless questions, something his family and his cousin where more than willing to satisfy in most occasions; although there were time when even their patience would run short. For this reason Josh couldn't simply understand why the boy that had tackled him to the ground had refused to answer the simple question. The boy simply seemed to stare at his leg with a shocked expression. Josh followed the older boy's line of sight and saw the blood on his own leg and he noticed burning sensation that was shooting up from his legs.

"You are hurt…" Jackson said in a tone that sounded like he was angry, exasperated and whining at the same time.

Josh simply smiled bashfully at Jackson while the older blonde grabbed his arm and dragged him across the park. Derek followed the two blonds feeling at a loss and guilty, wishing to still apologize to the young boy. He saw most of his friends still running around, not one of them noticing that he was no longer in their midst of their fun.

"Auntie Luna! Josh is hurt!" Jackson practically yelled as he dragged Josh towards a woman that was sitting in one of the benches reading a book. The woman had a tanned complexion, curly black hair and a curvy body. Hearing her name being called she looked up revealing big brown expressive eyes that looked the same shade of Josh's own eyes.

Luna's eyes looked at the two boys and immediately stood up and walked towards the boys. Meeting them halfway, concern clearly etched in her face. Once she reached them and crouched down to inspect her son's injury she caught sight of the older boy standing a few yards from where they were looking slightly uncomfortable, lost and apologetic. When Derek's and Luna's eyes met she gave a slight frown that lasted less than a second before her eyes went back to her son's face and back to the older boy.

"What happened?" She asked in a gentle and soothing tone.

"It was my fault ma'am…" Derek spoke up coming closer. "I was being chased by my friends and I wasn't looking where I was going and I kinda tackled him…."

Luna looked at Derek and gave him a calculating gaze on Derek; one that wasn't neither cold nor welcoming. But then gave him a warm smile.

"Taking responsibility for something you have done takes a lot of courage. What's your name?"

"M-my name is Derek ma'am. Derek Hale."

"Well Derek my name is Luna Sanchez-Whittemore. And I guess you already met my son Josh and my nephew Jackson." She said as she led the three children back to the bench.

Once the group had reached the bench, Luna started looking through her bag for her small first aid kit she always kept. Jackson sat Josh on the bench and promptly occupied the space next to him. He still sent half-glares towards Derek for hurting his cousin but those were quickly interrupted by Josh's pokes and tickles. Josh simply bothered his cousin and kept looking over at Derek and giving small friendly smiles. Derek simply stood in front of the two boys not exactly aware of what it was he was supposed to do in this situation yet having no desire to leave. After a couple of seconds Luna produced some ban-aids and disinfecting ointment and started to clean and tend to Josh's knee.

"I'm sorry…" Derek whispered as he watched the boy winced in pain at his mom ministrations.

Josh looked up at him and met his eyes. There was something about the blonds brown eyes that simply confused and drew Derek in. Josh simply smiled. "It's ok. I wasn't looking either and don't worry Jacks doesn't hate you."

Derek simply smiled at the boy and watched as the mentioned cousin cross his arms and pout trying to act tough.

"Ok there all better!" Luna said once the wound was bandaged. She leaned down and kissed the band-aid and Josh simply giggled at her antics.

"I think we had enough excitement for today. Let's go home ok?" She said to both of the boys.

Josh and Jackson nodded their heads and got off the bench ready to go.

"Alrighty then. Well Derek it was nice meeting you." Luna said as she gathered her stuff and took both boys' hand in her own.

Derek simply stood there and watched the retreating forms of the family as if he was waiting for something. As if his expectations and thought brought the action to existence Jossh turned around and waved at Derek.

"See you soon Derek! We can play together next time ok?"

Derek smiled and waved back nodding his head excitedly for no apparent reason. Once he could no longer see the two blonds and the woman Derek turned and searched the park for his parents and siblings. He was also ready to go home; the park seemed to longer hold him here. As he reached his family he thought about how strange the feeling that suddenly situated inside of him was; the park no longer felt like home like it did a few seconds ago, it was now simply a park. Derek simply shrugged the feeling away and waited patiently for his mom and dad to gather his siblings and the rest of his stuff in order to head back home.

In the days that were to come Derek kept coming back to the park started to play with Josh. The two boys quickly became friends, despite their age difference, and would often await anxiously until the moment they would play together again. Jackson would join them once or twice a week and seemed to still have difficulty warming up to Derek. Luna, on the other hand, would always watch over them when they played together; her gaze would often be intense and unwavering but as the days passed the gaze became friendlier and fonder. After a month passed the Derek and Josh were practically inseparable… and that was how their story began.


End file.
